HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - CARD

If it's not another Bella stamp it's a hedgehog (Penny Black) stamp. I made this card for my Mom and Dad's Anniversary at the end of the week. They have been married 30 years.

CUTE COUPLE

I am not prejudiced or anything but I have to say they are a cute couple. Brittany and her boyfriend (Broc) looked absolutely adorable on the night of their Senior Ball. Hard to believe how fast the time is going by. Wasn't it just last week that she was playing dress up?

YOU ROCK - CARD

Yep, you guessed it another Bella card. Did I say that I love Bellas? This is a card that I made for my niece who will be turning 11 in a week. She loves music, singing and her Ipod. The stamp is "ipodabella", music notes embossed with the cuttlebug folder, and the "you rock" was stamped with little letter stamps from Studio G. They were only $1 which explains why they are now all jumbled up in a little baggie because they would not stick back on the clear sheet. ;)

GRAD PARTY GOODIE BAGS

I have fallen in love with the Locker Talk cartridge for the Cricut!! I don't own this one yet (I borrowed it) but it is now on my wish list.

We are throwing Brittany a Graduation party in a few weeks and I made up 40 of these goodie bags for the event. I used Locker Talk for the cap and Mini Monograms for the circle and the scalloped circle. You got to love the "quantity" button on the Expression!!

ONE OF THE THINGS I AM MOST PROUD OF!

Of all of my "creations" this has to be the one that I am most proud of! This is our daughter, Brittany. It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital and pacing the floors with her in the middle of the night. It is so hard for us to believe that 18 years have gone by, that she is driving, that she now has a job, that she has had a boyfriend for the past year and a half (this one is actually harder for her Dad), and that in just a few weeks she will be graduating from high school. Not only is she graduating but she is graduating at the top of her class. She made Valedictorian and will be giving a speech during graduation. We are so proud of her. During her entire high school years, she has never earned less than a "A" in any of her classes. Most of them being honors or AP classes. I can not express just how proud we are of the beautiful, smart and talented woman she has become.

NEW STAMP FINDS

I just had to show off these two cute stamps. Of course I could not resist the Penny Black hedge hog one....but check out the cutie patootie scarecrow. Isn't he just the cutest?!?

THINKING OF YOU - CARD

Here is another Penny Black hedge hog. This stamp is called "Love Conquers". The "Thinking of you" is a Studio G dollar stamp from Michael's.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!! I hope all you mommies out there had a wonderful and relaxing day. I know that there is only 45 minutes left of the day and I am a little late in posting this...but I have a very good reason. I have been playing with my new Mother's Day gift. Yes yes yes...I got the Expression!!! I was SO shocked!! It is the best present ever! So the story starts like this: I was at a friend's house a few weekends ago and had sent DH a text message with a pic of my friend's expression with a text stating that "I so want one." I was joking...well half joking...okay a little bit joking. He never responded to my text that night. The next day I asked him if he got my text, and he answered yes. That's it...just yes. So I figured I was so reaching and sooo out of luck. Well today I open my gift bag from DH and the girls, inside is a cart box (mind you a cart that I already own...so I was a little confused), inside the cart box is my cell phone (okay now I am REALLY confused) open my phone and a text message comes through simply saying "OK" and a pic of my new expression in the box in my scrapbook room!!! It's all a blur now, but I believe there was running from the bedroom and screaming involved. LOL Here is a pic of my new addition. Gosh I LOVE that man of mine.

CELEBRATE - CARD

To date my favorite stamps are Bellas, Whipper Snappers, House Mouse and Penny Black. This is a Penny Black stamp called "Lazy Days". I just love the cute little hedgehog! I colored it using the gamsol technique and added stickles to the center of the flower. The "Celebrate" is a Studio G $1 stamp from Michael's and the flower die cut is from the cuttlebug with a dyed skittle in the center. I wish I owned more of these cute little hedgehogs.

MOTHER'S DAY CANDLES

The great thing about the blog and message board community is the sharing of talent and projects. I found the idea for these candles on the Cricut message board. Susan was kind enough to share the directions for the most gorgeous candle she had created. So I tried it myself and could not believe how simple they were to make and who could resist these cuties?

Directions:
1. Print your photograph on the BEST setting for plain old COPY paper from your printer. 2. Cut your photograph out to desired size. 3. Tear off a piece of (cooking) wax paper. 4. Place the photograph onto the candle. Right side up. 5. Place the waxed paper over top of the photograph (pulling tightly around the candle) 6. Using an embossing gun or hairdryer on HIGH, (not too close) to heat it the wax. 7. You know you're doing it right when you can see the wax melt through the picture. (It will look wet) 8. Once the whole picture has melted through, carefully peel the wax paper off. 9. Your photograph should then be inside of your candle. 10. I let mine sit for about 30 mins to cure, or you can pop it into the freezer for a few mins. 11. Now all you need to do is embellish it. P.S. You might want to buy a couple of cheap candles at the Dollar Store to practice perfecting your technique.

GRUMPABELLA ADDRESS BOOK

Here is a address book that I made for a friend's birthday. I found these cute little notebooks at Target. They have a elastic band that keeps it secured shut. They are so simple to make. I used the Grumpabella stamp. I confess I use this stamp the most. I just love the attitude she gives off!! I also used skittles, primas and rub-ons for the front cover and the tabs. The tabs were punched out using Stampin' Up's Round Tab punch. I hope she likes it. I actually made myself a pink one to keep all my RAK addresses in....but I am really liking the purple one better.

CLUTTER & CHAOS

I warned you in my previous posting that my scrap room did not always look all neat and tidy. Here is the start of total clutter and chaos. This mess is a result of a few cards. Piles of ribbon everywhere, mounds of primas, rogue skittles here and there, and lets not forget those pesky glue dots that have somehow managed to glue items down onto my table that weren't meant to be glued down. Keep in mind I stated this was just a start of the chaos....the floor is still clean. ;)

TOADALLY CUTE - LO

This is one of my favorite LO's that I have completed recently. It's a page kit from Scrapbook Fun Addicts. You can find a link for them to the right under "places I like to shop". Everything you need is included in the kit. All of the items are already cut out for you. So there is no tracing and cutting. You just add your own inks, chalks and pen detailing. I think the frogs toadally make this page.

HOUSE MOUSE & GAMSOL - CARD

I admit I usually try the newest trends only after they have been around forever. I just recently discovered Gamsol. It is amazing!! I love it. It makes your colored stamped images look incredible and less like a three year old colored them. Gamsol breaks down the wax content of your colored pencils and makes the color spread and blend beautifully. My only disappointment is that it does not help you stay within the lines. As soon as they develop a product for that I am all over it. This is a adorable House Mouse stamp called "Helping Hand". I didn't feel the desire to add any embellishments because I wanted the actual image and the coloring to stand on its own. I just love this stamp.

HANG IN THERE - CARD

I told you that I love Bellas. Here is another Bella stamp that I received for my birthday. For those of you that are wondering.....this is EXACTLY how I look in the morning. This cutie's name is Grumpabella. The flower embellishments are cute little sequins that I picked up at my LSS for $1 for a package of 50. They came in a clear baggy so I can not tell you who makes them. The "Hang in There" stamp is one of the $1 Studio G finds at Michael's.

QUEEN FOR A DAY - CARD

Don't you just LOVE Bellas!! I am so addicted to them! Meet Bubblebella. I just received her for my birthday and have been dying to play with her. The bubble embellishments are the new craze...."skittles". They are not actually called skittles, they are "Decorative Accents", and you can find them in the floral department at your local Michael's store. They come in yellow, green, blue, purple, pink/mauve and clear. On this card I used the clear ones. The "Queen for a Day" stamp is a Studio G dollar find at Michael's.

WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS

This is it, my little slice of heaven, my thinking spot, my tinkering place.....this is where all the magic happens. Scott and I decided to turn our one and only guest room into my scrapbook room. So now we are without a guest room (who needs guests anyways?) but I have a lovely place to scrap in. Scott did most of the work painting, adding the moulding, and assembling the furniture. He even picked out the material that the color scheme centers around. We even added a second work table in the room for Caitlin's sewing machine. I absolutely LOVE my room. Now keep in mind that it DOES NOT always look like this. Most of the time it is a disaster!! Scraps everywhere, embellishments on the floor, adhesive gumming up my table, and not one spot of clean table space....but that is part of the magic.